[1] Ceramics from the Jōmon-period Uzahama Site (宇佐浜遺跡) resemble those found in the Amami Islands.

[2] Chūzan Seikan records the prayers of the Kunigami council for the recovery of Shō Sei after an abortive attempt to occupy Amami Ōshima in 1537, while Kyūyō recounts the appointment of the son of the Kunigami Oyakata as aji after the successful takeover of the Amami Islands by Shō Gen in 1571.

During the Battle of Okinawa, the area saw an influx of refugees fleeing the heavy fighting in the south.

In September 1945, the occupying government merged the three villages of Kunigami, Higashi, and Ōgimi into the new city of Hentona (辺土名市); the merger was reversed the following year.

[1] Kunigami is mountainous, with over 80% of the land area covered by subtropical evergreen forest.